TACLOBAN CITY—National Youth Commissioner (NYC) Victor del Rosario has expressed alarm over the rising number of young people who got infected with HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immune deficiency syndrome).
Del Rosario called the youth the “face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” noting that of the 35 new cases daily, nearly 80 percent are from the age group of 15 to 34.
“It’s very alarming and this could be considered a national emergency. This threatens the health as well as the well-being of our youth,” he added.
Project Happy
The NYC has launched a program, dubbed as “Project Happy,” which stands for HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention Program for the Youth.
The program is intended to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS through school caravans.Based on the monitoring of the Department of Health in Eastern Visayas (DOH-8), all 114 HIV/AIDS cases in the region from January to July this year belonged to the age bracket of 15 to 34.
Of the number, six of them have died, according to John Paul Roca, DOH-8 information officer.
900 cases in E. Visayas
Since the DOH started monitoring the HIV-AIDS cases in the country in 1984, Eastern Visayas, composed of the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar, has over 900 cases, including 111 deaths.
Del Rosario said the Project Happy campaign had brought them to several campuses in Cebu and in Leyte, particularly in Tacloban City, which had more than 50 HIV/AIDS cases.
“We seek to create greater awareness on HIV/AIDS especially among the youth and for them to be HIV/AIDS advocates and warriors themselves,” Del Rosario said, referring to the goals of the project.